WE USE THIS WORD TO EXPRESS THE UNQUALIFIED ACCEPTANCE OF ANOTHER PERSON’S BEING AS THE GREATER PART OF SELF. WE KNOW OF NO OTHER WORD THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE. THIS IS THE LOVE OF THE TAO.

Is there a familiar word in another language familiar to this medium?

THERE IS NO WORD IN THE TONGUES OF THIS CULTURE THAT WOULD EXPRESS THIS CONCEPT. IT IS THE RELEASING OF SELF TO THE FLOW OF THE PAN-DIMENSIONAL UNIVERSE. IT IS THE RECOGNITION THAT THE SOLID ISOLATION OF THE PHYSICAL PLANE IS ONLY THE PERSONALITY’S FAULTY PERCEPTION, AND THAT IN TRUTH THERE IS NO SEPARATION — THERE IS ONLY ONE. YOU HAVE HEARD IT SAID BY ONE (Jesus) WHO IS AN ADEPT THAT, “I AM ALL THAT THERE IS, AND YOU ARE WITH ME.” THIS IS AGAPE.

SOURCE: Michael Teachings Transcripts]]>
Love and Truthhttp://www.michaelteachings.com/channeling/discussion/33/love-and-truth
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:39:50 +0000Loveubiquitous33@/channeling/discussionsSometimes, love and truth seem to be at odds. You want to speak your truth to someone, for example, but you love him and don't want to hurt his feelings.

At their lower levels of manifestation, love and truth can, in fact, collide, but in their accurate renderings, they are in perfect harmony. In the example above, if there is a need to discuss an issue with someone, it can be done in a way that is truthful without being hurtful. The key is working through the various beliefs that might distort your truth and make it partial and unfair. When you arrive at a pure statement of your truth, it will not have an attacking or otherwise pain-inflicting energy.

At the same time, an expression of love truly rendered is not at the expense of your truth or well-being. Working through unresolved feelings that might distort love with guilt, misplaced obligation, and so forth, allows an experience of crystal-clear love that only exalts all concerned, including yourself.

Channeled by Shepherd Hoodwin]]>
Love and Fearhttp://www.michaelteachings.com/channeling/discussion/32/love-and-fear
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:32:55 +0000Loveubiquitous32@/channeling/discussionsQ: If we are vessels to hold love and spread love in our lifetime, then how is it that sometimes this vessel of mine will spread other than love? Where does this "other than love" come from?

A: You refer to a goal sought by all fragments during the course of their incarnations. We know firsthand of the struggles involved in this journey, and want you to understand that the attainment of Agape is a worthwhile goal even if its fulfillment eludes your grasp at times.

On the other hand, if we condensed Agape into a bowl of soup, for example, and you only managed to get one spoonful per day, you would still be doing good work. Based on what we can see of your life, though, we think you are far ahead of most. We sense that you are too hard on yourself, however, and want to remind you that if you swallow hot soup all at once it will only scald your throat. There is nothing wrong in sipping life's lessons one spoonful at a time.

Regarding your vessel, only two energies can occupy its space: love and fear. Fear is a seduction that's greater than any sexual caress and when it charms and engulfs your vessel, as you call it, one recourse is to stop judging the feeling and momentarily accept what it has to offer. Seeing fear from this perspective allows you to quickly learn what the opposite polarity feels like. With this comparison there will be less fear of letting go and a greater ease in releasing negativity.

Fearing fear is just as self-perpetuating as loving love, and although we will not say it's easy, the energy you choose to perpetuate during your lifetime is ultimately your choice.

Channeled by David Gregg]]>
Lovehttp://www.michaelteachings.com/channeling/discussion/26/love
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:35:02 +0000Loveubiquitous26@/channeling/discussionsWe are a causal plane entity consisting of 1,050 souls who have completed the physical plane cycle on earth. We speak to you not as outsiders but as ones who have experienced and in certain respects continue to experience what you are now dealing with in your life. We are playing the role of teacher, but that is merely something we are doing for the time being. We teach not because we are exalted or perfect, but because we learn in this way, just as you learn by hearing what we have to say and accepting it or rejecting it, as you choose. We may already be friends with you, even if you do not remember. If we are not yet friends, we view you as a future friend, so we greet you in that vein.

We are all here to do something together. Your truth is as precious to the universe as ours. Your wisdom has been gained by much experience, just as ours has. Your struggles and growth have enhanced the knowledge and well-being of all. You are significant. You are a part of the All, not like a drop of water that melts into the ocean, but like a cell in a vast body that creatively and individually adds to what is known by the entire organism. You are a conductor of the highest force of the universe, which is sometimes referred to by the name “love.” You are a loving being. You came to this planet in a great act of love, as did we. Everything you have done, you have done out of love. Those who apparently do evil do it ultimately out of love, even if their actions are misguided for the moment.

You may think of yourself as a failure at love. Even if all your relationships have ended poorly, in your view, this is not the true measure of love. You undertook them with an expectation, at least unconsciously, that you would increase your knowledge of love, and in fact, you did. You may not have recognized all their lessons yet, but you will, at least on some level.

You do not make the same mistake twice; each mistake is always at least a little different. In any case, mistakes are not failures, in the sense that they should not have occurred. Had you been capable of doing otherwise, you would have. You lacked the true insight that would have allowed you to avoid making them. But no matter what you lack, you are perfect. Everything is in a state of becoming more than it is; otherwise, we would all be bored. Your lacks are opportunities for expansion.

When you leave the physical plane at the end of your life, you usually review it. No longer enmeshed in its intensity, you can more easily see clearly what you learned, and find love and compassion for yourself. You can better appreciate the worth of your experiences, both how much you gained and how much you helped others gain. You can even laugh about some of the things you took quite seriously during your life.

Children tend to be proud of their physical growth and development, and they do not have to do anything except live, mostly playing, for growth to occur. Unfortunately, in your culture, many children do not get to play as much as they would like; nevertheless, they play their way to growth. Adults can learn from this. We are not suggesting that you should party your life away and refuse to look at its issues, or that the way is always easy or clear. But growth can be fun and adventurous, and eventually leads to more life energy and greater well-being.

Ultimately, every step forward increases love. You are love, so every step you take forward increases what you are for the benefit of all. You cannot grow without increasing your ability to love, and you cannot love without growing. It is not selfish to pay attention to your own growth, because it gives you more to bring to others. The only thing that is selfish is what hurts others. That will inevitably hurt you also, because you are connected to everyone else by reason of being part of the same whole.

You may ask, “What do I do with my anger and hate?” Love them. At their heart, they are love designed to change or keep out what does not belong, and this can increase love. There is a place for anger and hate in the universe; otherwise they would not exist. They are not destructive unless expressed in a way that violates others’ domain. Properly, they are directed at people’s actions rather than at their being. If you do express them destructively, learn from your experience and forgive yourself. All experiences can contribute to your growth.

Love your feelings. As you welcome them, your load lightens. The first step of love is acceptance. Accept every part of yourself as good. How many tapes do you have running through your mind that say “bad boy” or “bad girl”? You are not bad for anything you have done, and neither is anyone else. This is the awareness love brings to a situation. You may choose not to allow others to behave in certain ways in your space—that is a different matter. But in love, you accept their right to experience what they must experience to learn.

Every action has a reason for being. Hurtful actions are often the enactment of internal conflicts on the stage of the outer world. When people no longer need to act out their conflicts, they stop. When you love yourself fully, you stop playing either aggressor or victim roles, partly because you are not treating yourself in a violent, arbitrary, or unaccepting way, or seeing yourself as powerless. Love is true power. Love is the ultimate solution to all problems.

Channeled by Shepherd Hoodwin -- from Loving From Your Soul]]>
Learning Lovehttp://www.michaelteachings.com/channeling/discussion/25/learning-love
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:31:51 +0000Loveubiquitous25@/channeling/discussionsAn artist can learn something from every work of art he creates. Each work of art expands art, because it is unique. Whether it is deemed good or bad, it is still a new, never-before-created effort. Therefore, new ground has been broken and art has been advanced, at least to some small degree. Some works are imitative, while others are more original, yet even what is imitative has something new in it. Few artists are great, but every artist progresses if he applies himself. Each lifetime builds on the one before, and artistic skill can grow from lifetime to lifetime. Eventually, every soul who chooses to invest the necessary effort can achieve a high level of artistry. If a child demonstrates native ability for art, no doubt he had previous lives that brought this talent into being. Each great artist was once an average artist, and before that, unskilled, in previous lifetimes. Art is an essential part of the lessons of this planet. While most souls do not aspire to a high level of artistic achievement, virtually everyone wants to take advantage of the opportunity to experience artistry, and therefore has at least one lifetime in which there is some artistic study. It is like going to New York and making certain not to miss the opportunity to see the Statue of Liberty.

Whatever you are specifically studying, you have come to learn love. Every experience on earth is a lesson in love and in some way expands love, the mistakes as well as the successes. Even a great artist makes many mistakes. It is as important for the artist to know what does not work as to know what does. The more original the artist, the more mistakes he makes, because by definition, originality takes you into uncharted territory. There is no body of knowledge to guide you. Every lifetime, to some degree, takes you through uncharted territory. Some people live relatively conservatively and seek the familiar, but even so, they cannot escape some surprises. Others are more adventurous and their lives are full of new experiences. If those who pioneer are sometimes awkward or less than completely successful, those who come later can achieve greater success based on their work. Generally, the first to experiment with new forms in art or music do not bring forth the ultimate expressions of those forms. Nevertheless, without the pioneers, those ultimate expressions would have no chance of being created.

If you are on a spiritual path, you are likely to be on the leading edge in discovering new, higher forms of love. Others may think that you are a little weird. What is new is generally uncomfortable. Your efforts will not always be unqualified successes. Fortunately, you are not attempting to develop these forms alone—you have all those who are fellow pioneers. There are those who will try to convince you that the world is flat and that you are going to sail off the edge. For all you know for certain, they may be right, but you sail on anyway. This is the spirit of the explorer.

In the development of new art forms, trends come and go, but each contributes to the overall progression. Likewise, there are many new age techniques that aid the study of love but will eventually not be needed. It is important to maintain an awareness of the overall lesson—love. The point is not technique. Techniques are necessary, but they are means to an end; they are not ends in themselves. If you wish to appraise the value of a technique for yourself, ask, “Is this in some way expanding my capacity for love?” If it is, then at least for the moment, it is worthwhile for you. When it ceases to aid you in expanding love, it is wise to leave it behind.

Channeling is a technique. It is a means, not an end. Channeling has no intrinsic value on its own, just as a telephone has no intrinsic value on its own. It is the communication over the telephone or through the channel that can give it value. If our penetration through this channel aids in magnifying the experience of love, it is worthwhile. This is the purpose of all true teachings.

Love is all-inclusive. It cannot be limited to narrow aspects of itself. Love is not just soft and nurturing. It is also strong and penetrating. Love is the force that increases the integrity of the universe. Whatever is required to do this is loving.Integrity is related to functionality. When something contributes to a higher level of functionality, it is loving. For example, it can be a loving act to dismantle an engine that is not working properly, that lacks integrity. Then it can be rebuilt, or the parts that are still in good working order can be used in other engines.

Likewise, it can be a loving act to dismantle a relationship that is not working properly, that lacks integrity. A relationship has integrity if in it, you are more effective in contributing to the well-being of yourself and others than you are outside it. If a relationship impedes well-being, it does not have integrity and will tend to break down. But even that is not antithetical to the purposes of love, because some good spare parts may come out of it, or perhaps it can be rebuilt.

A time comes with any machine when it is worn out and not worth repairing any more. For one machine, that might be soon after being manufactured. For another, that might be a hundred years later. It depends partly on who has been using it. Relationships, being alive, can be regenerated, but they do not stay in the same form forever, because you are growing and changing. It is important to be able to discern when the form of a relationship of any kind has outlived its usefulness. Sometimes the greatest contribution to the magnification of love is achieved alone, and sometimes it is achieved in partnership with another or with many others. This can change over time. However, you can learn something from every relationship, and every relationship expands love to some degree.

Love achieves whatever is of the greatest benefit. It may first flush out what needs to be eliminated, which can be uncomfortable, but ultimately, love brings increased well-being to all concerned.

A MEDITATION

Close your eyes and feel your body. Your body is not just your flesh. Feel it as far out as it extends from your skin. Ask that your body receive love. Ask that this love bring balance, alignment, and attunement with the source of love, the Tao.

Channeled by Shepherd Hoodwin -- from Loving From Your Soul]]>
Onenesshttp://www.michaelteachings.com/channeling/discussion/24/oneness
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:26:18 +0000Loveubiquitous24@/channeling/discussionsFor many people, it is frightening to contemplate the dissolution of their separateness. This fear often stands in the way of achieving emotional intimacy with another person. Many people are afraid that they will lose themselves if they open that much.

If you find that in opening, you lose yourself, you are not experiencing true oneness. In a romantic relationship in which one partner loses himself in the other, what is really going on? Usually the one losing himself does not have a strong sense of identity to begin with. The relationship is begun with a premise such as, “I am nothing and you are something. I am weak and you are strong; you will make me safe.” The other person becomes the identity for the one losing himself. In your culture, it has been more common for women to do this than for men. This is symbolized by the fact that until recently, women who married inevitably lost their last names. We are not saying that women should always keep their own last names when they marry; that is a matter of choice—it might be more convenient to change the name. What is important is how it is viewed.

While oneness is the truth, whether you know it or not, it is not necessarily wise to try to have an experience of total oneness all at once. It is not possible anyway. To experience oneness, you must first have a strong sense of self. You need the knowledge that you are safe, that you are who you are no matter what.

Before you decided to take this great journey on earth, you were in a state of total oneness, a spark of the Tao. To expand the Tao’s awareness and creativity, you cast part of yourself into the dimensional universe and began your present cycle of exploration.

Some experience of separateness and isolation is appropriate and inevitable on the physical plane, because this plane is designed to allow you to explore who you individually are as a unique being. The physical body’s solid boundary reinforces the experience of separateness. When this experience is appropriate, you take it for granted; you do not question or worry about it. When it is excessive or unnecessary, loneliness results. If you are willing to help others and allow them to help you, much loneliness can be eliminated.

When a soul first incarnates on the physical plane, having just come from the Tao, he still has a strong sense of oneness. He is like an infant who still largely feels like part of his mother. As the soul matures, he goes through a phase in which he learns to assert his individuality, like a child establishing his own identity. This is the time of maximum separateness. After that, the soul moves again toward an experience of oneness. However, it is now conscious oneness. The soul develops a larger and larger perspective based on his experience, just as a child does as he grows up. The amount of isolation that felt natural when he was asserting his individuality would now feel excessive and would result in loneliness. The experience of separation becomes starkly visible against the sensing of how lovely it would be to open again to the greater universe of which he is becoming more aware.

Loneliness is an important feeling, because it causes you to seek oneness, seek to open your encasement of isolation. A knight’s armor protected him from mortal wounds in battle. However, afterward, it was apt to feel mighty uncomfortable, perhaps hot, since it did not breathe. At some point he would feel ready to take it off. Loneliness is like the knight’s discomfort in his armor.

People often assume that having other people around will ensure an end to loneliness. If you have not opened, other people will not end your loneliness. Other people may help you open, but if you interact with people who do not nurture you, you may want to close down even more. The answer to loneliness is not primarily in finding the right mate, going to a party, or whatever; it is in opening to oneness.

Those who have been deeply wounded emotionally, either in this lifetime or in recent prior lives, may expect harm and therefore find it more difficult to open. When you are on the physical plane, there is always the possibility of harm, from either yourself or others. A thick encasement cannot truly protect you; neither can you create a situation for yourself on the physical plane that is guaranteed to be completely safe. However, it is not necessary to do so. Every organism can sustain a certain amount of harm, recover, and move on. The excessive fear of harm comes from a belief that you are weak and fragile, and hence cannot tolerate virtually any harm. If you wish to open, the first step is to change that belief and rediscover the strength that you have. This might entail taking some sort of apparently risky action that changes your life situation, proving to yourself that you have the power to do this. An example is speaking up to someone with whom you have had a tendency to hold back.

Some people also find it difficult to open because of a fear of being seen. They believe that they are bad somehow and that others will see this—their guilty secrets, or what is wrong or inadequate about them, will be exposed. However, opening to oneness primarily reveals the glorious eternal being you are.

“Self-made millionaires” often take many risks and fail, but have the courage to keep trying new ideas until they succeed. Those who are successful on the spiritual path are also generally marked by a high level of courage. They are willing to take calculated risks when they do not know how things will turn out. They move forward, sometimes even trembling from head to toe, not knowing if they will be smashed under the boots of the “giant.”

You will have the ultimate experience of oneness when your journey is over and you are fully reunited with the Tao, which has total consciousness of oneness. The Tao, in a sense, is not differentiated or fragmented. It is one whole, even though each part is valid as a part. There is complete integration, in other words, and hence oneness is the natural experience. As you journey back to the Tao, you experience increasing oneness.

There is a right amount of openness for you. You do not have to force anything. If you open as much as you can, you will probably be able to open a little more next time—there is a continual increase. It might be compared to stretching tight shoes. A shoemaker’s stretching machine gently and gradually stretches the leather as it is able to give. If the machine were to push too hard, it would rip the leather. Your essence is characterized by love, and love does not impose; love is infinitely strong, so it can afford to be infinitely gentle. Your essence knows that it is eternal, and that eventually all encasements will dissolve when they are no longer needed or wanted.

Ironically, the more you experience oneness, the more your individuality is enhanced. Not only do you not lose yourself—you find yourself. By letting go to what is beyond you, you are also letting go to who you are, because you are letting go of your encasement. If you have no encasement, you are free to share with others in any way that is appropriate.

We, the Michael entity, are 1,050 souls who blend on a continual basis in a way that is incomprehensible to you on the physical plane. It is not yet total oneness, but we experience a relatively high degree of oneness with one another, and with others as well. We work together like the cells of an organism. If the cells in your body are healthy, they are one with all the other cells, particularly those around them. They exchange substances on a continual basis. Cells have walls, but not encasements. The walls are permeable and there is right relationship with what is around them. The fact that there is oneness does not cause the cells to lose their individuality; a brain cell is different from a skin cell. They all function, though, as part of the same larger whole: the body.

Oneness is not merely the absence of an encasement. It is an active connectedness to the All, the ability of the part to give and receive freely into the whole. For many, the first step on the spiritual path is to learn how to give. They practice being selfless Good Samaritans. This may be helpful in breaking down their encasements. The second step for them might be to learn how to receive. There are those who can give but cannot receive. If a cell gave but did not receive, it would soon be empty and would implode. If it received but did not give, it would eventually absorb more than it could handle and would explode. The healthy cell both gives and receives without obstruction. The highest spiritual state is not to give or to receive dominantly, but to be permeable, to be constantly both giving and receiving. This is a state that could be called being. You are a human being—you are designed to both give and receive simultaneously.

Giving is not the same as imposing: “I’m going to give this to you whether you like it or not, for your own good.” Likewise, receiving is not the same as taking: “I want this for me; you can’t have it.” You only feel the need to impose when you are encased. When you experience oneness, you know that you and everyone else are already part of all things.

A MEDITATION

See the encasements you use to make yourself safe. Thank them for what they have provided you. Explore whether you still need them. If not, let them dissolve.

Channeled by Shepherd Hoodwin -- from his book Loving From Your Soul]]>
Different Ways of Lovinghttp://www.michaelteachings.com/channeling/discussion/23/different-ways-of-loving
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:22:57 +0000Loveubiquitous23@/channeling/discussionsThe months June and July each have particular qualities that most find beautiful, yet they are different from one another. In much of the Northern Hemisphere, June still has a flavor of spring, although it is generally becoming hot, whereas July has the bona fide flavor of summer. October smells of piles of leaves; November, of frostiness; February, of unending quiet; and April, of new birth.

There is something beautiful about every point in the cycle. You might say that the qualities we described are positive sides of those months. July can scorch; February can be bitterly cold. These are negative sides.

This analogy gives you an idea of the infinite variety of ways love can manifest: some people love in a way more akin to April; others, to September; still others, to February. Using another analogy, some people love more in the manner of Venus; others, in the manner of Mars. Mars loves with an intense focus; Venus, with soft caresses. Both are needed. There is no wrong way of loving, but as mentioned, there are positive and negative sides to everything. The positive sides reveal part of the true nature of love; the negative sides reveal those same qualities distorted by fear.

What makes for beauty in you and anywhere is love. Love is the source of beauty. A beautiful person is one in whom love is much in evidence. Love manifests in an infinite number of ways. There is no one proper expression for it. You are encouraged to find your own way of manifesting what love is. When you do this, you expand love’s scope.

Love is not necessarily dominantly sweet. Love can be sweet, but it can be pungent as well. Not every flower smells like a rose, but each flower’s scent is beautiful. All flowers, by the way, have a scent, even if your nose cannot smell it.You have a way of loving that is right for you. You do not need to copy another person’s way. You may wish to do so temporarily as a means of expanding your repertoire of loving behaviors, but if you are to know yourself, eventually you must find your own way of loving.

Sometimes people are disappointed at another person’s way of loving. Perhaps his expression of it is distorted in some way by mixed motivations. He may not be expressing very much love at all. But many times people are confused because they look for a particular way of loving, Venus’s way, for example, when the other person loves like Mars. It is the course of wisdom to learn to respect the way others give love, and to honor your own way. Some people are naturally sweet when they love. Some people love with much humor, while others love with great sincerity. Still others love with nobility of intent. Some people feel that to love is to do, while others feel that to love is to say. Those who express love primarily through words may feel that if someone does not say the words “I love you,” he does not love. While we encourage people to have the ability to verbalize their feelings, if you dismiss another person based on his inability to say that he loves you, you are not recognizing his totality.

As mentioned, mixed motivations frequently enter in, and these too are confusing. Usually love, as it is experienced on the physical plane, is not whole; people hold pieces of love back. People act hurtfully as well as lovingly. If someone acts hurtfully to you, it has more to do with his own lack of evolvement than with anything you have done. If you wish to see him in a balanced way, you must also acknowledge his expressions of loving intent. Doing so can increase them. Acknowledging expressions of loving intent is also vital when you are working with children—and with yourself: acknowledge your own loving intent as well as the pieces of love you hold back. An expression of loving intent is beautiful, true, sound, balanced, strong, clear, and wise. Expanding your ability to love is the highest goal you can strive for.

As part of the human tendency to focus on the negative, people often acknowledge what is not of loving intent in others, but little of what is. Even if a couple is finding creative ways to resolve their differences rather than fighting continually, what is all their effort for if they are not also acknowledging expressions of loving intent in each other?

It is true that if you try to repress what bothers you in another person, it becomes harder to see his fine qualities. But if you see an unending parade of irritating or uncomfortable qualities, there is a good chance that either you are in the wrong relationship, or you have not learned to see expressions of loving intent. If you cannot see them in your partner, you probably cannot see them in yourself. If you cannot see them in yourself, consider the people who taught you how to see yourself. These were likely your parents. Were they able to see love around themselves? If not, have compassion for them, and realize that you have to learn how to do this on your own. This, you might say, is Spirituality 101.

Many people think that they are spiritual because they have an intellectual understanding of metaphysics. While we do not discourage a study of metaphysics, you might say that to be spiritual is to love. Love in the way that is natural for you. Do not reject love simply because you cannot love in the way others do, and do not reject the love of others because they do not love in your way. Find your own core of love and learn to bring it to the surface.

A MEDITATION

Ask to travel into your core of love. Be there now. If you do not feel anything, that is all right—imagine what it would be like if you were there. Use similes to describe it to yourself. You might say that it is like a waterfall, or like the white stream behind a jet in the sky. You might say that it is the color of a lily pad, or the texture of a leaf. Take a moment and get to know it.

When you said to ask to travel, I had the sensation of falling. When you said, “Be there,” I landed with a bump. It was beautiful, so white that it was almost silvery. It had a crystalline quality to it. It was warm and soft. I got images of a mother’s breast or a baby’s skin. It was that kind of warmth. There was a heartbeat, and an incredible amount of loving acceptance, both within, because I was surrounded by it, and then outside. It was very beautiful.

My core of love was light and clear crystal, extremely familiar and comfortable. It brought back memories of a series of meditations I did about ten years ago in which I kept seeing stained glass with the message, “Don’t go through the colors. Just go through the clear.”

Much to my surprise, I saw powerful colorations of blue, white, and black, and heard a voice that was dynamic, powerful, and energetic.

Quite different, isn’t it, from what the other two shared, yet valid.

Mine was a water lily. It didn’t go anywhere. I was struck by the consistency of it. It was very simple. I felt the sun crowning me, and a gentle rocking motion that carried me away. It was very pleasant. It took me a long time to get there. I had to collect pieces of myself, but when I arrived, it was quite easy. It was like plunking myself down there. There was a lot of giggling. That was the height of the experience.

That is a key for you, isn’t it? Perhaps, when you are looking for a way to extend your core of love to someone, you can do so with humor.

I felt the sun also, as if I were sunbathing at the beach. It felt very good.

My core felt kind of soft and mushy, like pizza dough. A circle, and the words “agape” and “comfort,” kept showing up. It felt kinesthetic, touchy.

My experience was different: clouds and cool mist, as opposed to the warmth of the sun and lots of light.

This suggests to us that your way of loving is refreshing, like the ocean spray in your face, enlivening as opposed to a more soothing and relaxing way of loving. If you are overheated, there is nothing more welcome than a cool mist!

This is a simple exercise, but if you can remember what it felt like when you tapped into your core of love, it will be easier to do it again.

If you were not given enough love as a child, how does that distort your ability to love? How is that resolved?

You may have difficulty connecting with your core of love, because you do not know what love feels like. However, sometimes that lack motivates you to dig deeper within—you become ennobled instead of hardened. You may have come into the world with a strong connection to your core of love. You can then use external deprivation to strengthen it further. By maintaining or reestablishing that connection without outer reinforcement, you realize that your core of love cannot be taken from you. The harder it is to win this knowledge, the more precious and strong it is when you find it. There were probably others along the way who reminded you of your core of love, in addition to inner guidance coaching you.

Being connected with your core of love does not necessarily prevent you from being wounded, nor does it automatically heal past wounds. However, taking responsibility to heal them strengthens your connection, which, in turn, makes it easier to heal them, because love heals. So you establish a momentum. Only when you reach agape, which is total love, are you impervious to wounds. This is the great goal for all.

We do not discount the need to receive love from others—loving intercourse is essential. Where you lack this, you deeply sense the void. However, for an adult, receiving expressions of loving intent from others is not primary; experiencing your own core of love comes first. Then you have a basis for relating maturely to another’s core of love. You may keenly feel what you did not receive or what you are not receiving now. But if filling this need outside yourself is your focus, you will have a hard time filling it to your satisfaction.

There are not many people who have a strong connection with their own core of love. Therefore, there are not many who have that to give. Most people are hungry for love, even if they do not know it, and are looking to others for it. Where is it going to come from? Each person must find it in himself. Then it is available for others.When you have a firm connection with your own core of love, you find that you have an infinite supply of it. What also happens is that everything in you that is not of love lines up at the water fountain to have a drink, so to speak. Your lack of loving intent surfaces where you had not been conscious of it before. This gives you an opportunity to further expand your core of love.

Love is the source of psychological healing as well as other levels of healing. Those who have no connection with their core of love can go to therapists for years and not heal, because only love understands. Learning to express anger and other negative feelings is healing to the extent that you are motivated by love. It may seem contradictory that you could be motivated by love to express rage, for example, but in fact love motivates you to meet and heal the unloving parts of yourself. You are not glorifying or empowering them, but bringing them into the light and releasing them in a harmless way.

I feel moved to complete with people in my life that I don’t love, like my ex-husband, because agape is so important.

While it is valuable to complete with people in your life, you can do so only when you are ready. If you do not yet love your ex-husband, it is because you do not yet know and understand him and what you experienced with him. When you are ready to, you will. It is all right to have your negative feelings as long as you need to. A cocoon becomes a butterfly when it is ready; all you can do is provide a safe place for it.

Someone who says he loves everybody may not yet be aware of negative feelings still in him. That is all right too; it is worthwhile to take an attitude of goodwill toward others. Wherever you are is your perfect starting point. You will not learn everything there is to know about loving by the last day of your last lifetime. It is an unending process.

Loving is not pasting on a smile and doing your version of good things for other people, whether you like it or not. That does not bring happiness or fulfillment. Loving must be genuine. You cannot force what is genuine. You can only nurture your process of opening to it. Love is delicate, yet infinitely strong. Once you open to your core of love, it makes itself known to you; it teaches you its ways. If you make demands on it, your connection with your core of love dims.

It takes attention to stay with your present experience of love. People often prefer to memorize rules instead. This is what religions tend to be about: “You do not have to be connected with your core of love. Just do what we say, and you will know what love is.” However, there is no substitute for your core of love. When you are clearly connected to it, you are able to love in your own natural way.

Channeled by Shepherd Hoodwin -- from his book Loving From Your Soul]]>
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